The present invention relates to a carton construction of particular utility in the packaging of ice cream and similar frozen comestibles and, in greater particularity, to a paperboard trunk-style ice cream carton having a partial liner of a flexible, water-resistant sheet material so positioned and adhered to the inner surface of the carton blank as to provide easy opening of the carton cover and added protection to the frozen contents both before and after the removal of a portion thereof.
Ice cream and similar frozen confections are commonly packaged in trunk-style cartons made of waxed or polymer-coated paperboard. The cartons have a cover hinged to a wall of the main receptacle, and the cover is provided on the non-hinged sides with a skirt which overlies the upper portions of three of the receptacle walls. An extension of the front cover skirt panel is adhered to the front receptacle wall to seal the carton and a so-called zipper strip defined by two substantially parallel weakness lines lies interposed between the adhered area and the cover skirt. Upon removal of the zipper opening strip by severance of the weakness lines, the cover may be lifted to give access to the contents. It has been found, however, that the cover is often adhered so tightly to the frozen contents of the carton that it is difficult to raise the cover without tearing some of its component parts. Furthermore, once the carton has been opened, a portion of the contents removed, and the cover reclosed for storage of the remainder in a freezer, the surface of the remaining ice cream tends to ice off and to desiccate because the carton is no longer in intimate contact with the product.